Latch Goes Public in $1.56B SPAC Deal with TS Innovation – TheStreet

Latch will go public through a merger with TS Innovation Acquisitions Corp. (TSIA), a special purpose acquisition company launched by Tishman Speyer Properties, in a deal that will value the building software maker at $1.56 billion.

Shares of New York-based TS Innovation Acquisitions were soaring 75.2% to $18.12.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.

Latch’s co-founder and CEO Luke Schoenfelder will continue to operate and manage the company following the transaction. Rob Speyer, president and CEO of Tishman Speyer and CEO and chairman of TSIA, will join the board upon completion of the transaction.   

Upon completion of the transaction, Latch said it expects to have up to $510 million in cash, net of fees and expenses.

Latch, which was founded in 2014, said it booked more than 300,000 units across more than 35 states, with one in 10 new multifamily apartments in the United States built with Latch in 2019.

The company reported $167 million in booked revenue in 2020, up 49% from 2019.

Latch’s common stock is expected to trade on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “LTCH”.

Tishman Speyer owns such properties as Rockefeller Center and 200 Park Avenue in New York. The company is set to receive a roughly 4% stake in Latch, worth around $60 million, as de facto payment for sponsoring the SPAC, according to Bloomberg. 

Schoenfelder told Bloomberg that 2020 was Latch’s strongest sales year, helped by the pandemic’s spurring interest in tools such as contactless door and elevator controls. Latch has more than 200 employees and was last valued at $454 million as of 2019.

SPAC initial public offering accounted for nearly half of U.S. IPO activity in 2020, according to SPAC Analytics, and accounted for nearly half the growth in the U.S. IPO market last year compared with 2019.

SPAC IPOs have accounted for 85% of U.S. activity so far in 2021, according to SPAC Analytics.